


Cream and Sugar

by yo_yoosung



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: 707 real name is used so spoilers?, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/M, Reader-Insert, also MC is a sort of new employee at jaehee's coffee shop, i love these type of aus so sue me, its written in second person, so thats how MC gets to know everyone idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-28 01:04:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8424595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yo_yoosung/pseuds/yo_yoosung
Summary: When you got the job working at Jaehee's coffee shop, you were just looking for a way to make ends meet. You never expected to find yourself wrapped up in the world of her mysterious red haired friend. Yet, here you were, falling further and further for him and all you knew was his name.





	1. Day One

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, when I downloaded this game, I didn't expect to like it this much? I literally haven't written fanfiction in years, but here I am. The last time I ever wrote from second person was years ago when I first started anime and was in love with Sasuke Uchiha lmao. 
> 
> As of right now, I only plan on doing eleven chapters, but I haven't fully decided. Also, I'm thinking of doing a series of sorts where I write an AU for each of MC's possible romances, but that's only a possibility at this point. 
> 
> Sorry this chapter is so short, it's just meant to set the story for now. I promise future installments will be longer. Enjoy! :)

* * *

 

The first time you saw him had been on a Tuesday afternoon during rush hour. There wasn’t anything particularly remarkable about him at first glance and the coffee shop surely was busy enough to where you wouldn’t have noticed him if it hadn’t been for the fact that your boss had wandered over to him. It wasn't strange for Jaehee to insert herself in the conversations of her customers, she liked to get to know them. It was the fact that she was holding a casual conversation longer than a minute or two with the stranger. You could swear that the stern posture she held with her arms folded over her chest was one that she only passed out to those she was familiar with.

Your concentration on the pair was broken abruptly by the shrill cry from a nearby table of an elderly couple demanding more coffee. Not missing a beat, you brought the pot to them and filled both cups to the brim. All the while, you found your eyes drifting back to Jaehee and the stranger. You couldn’t get a decent look at him past Jaehee's body, the only thing standing out being his vibrant red hair that bounced as he chatted animatedly. 

Rush hour passed sooner than expected and the relief it brought you lifted a heavy weight off your shoulders. The sigh that was dragged out of you was one that could only be the result of a job well done. As you go behind the counter, your eyes focus on the stranger again. While you imagined he’d be gone by then with Jaehee no longer at his side, he continued to be huddled over his laptop, typing at a lightning speed. It was still hard to make anything out about him as his hunched position didn’t allow you to see his face, only his hair and dark, over-sized jacket. 

_'What could he possibly be working on?_  'You thought to yourself quietly. 

Scanning the shop quickly for anyone who might need your immediate attention, you nervously grabbed a fresh pot of coffee. The least you could do was refill his cup and offer conversation, right? Crossing the room, you stopped short at his table. You parted your lips, but snapped them shut as you stared at him.

Despite being in front of him, his eyes never left his screen as he said in a joking tone, “Are you kicking me out?”

“What?” You said uneasily. You mentally berated yourself for not choosing a wittier reply. 

At that, he snapped his head up and turned bright red when he noticed you. “Oh,” He chuckled nervously. “You’re not Jaehee.”

Raising an eyebrow, you said with a small grin, “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“No, I’m glad to see your face instead!” He blurted. Realizing what he said, he shifted in his seat and moved his gaze back to his laptop screen.

Allowing your grin to grow to show your teeth, you held the coffee pot up for him to see. “Want more?”

Not trusting himself, he nodded.

Smiling, you filled his cup then stepped back. Without any thought or shame, your eyes danced across his visage and couldn’t help but zone in on his glasses. The stripes were certainly peculiar and you couldn’t say you were fond of them without straight out lying. Despite that, you found that he had an attractive face that left heat rising to your cheeks. Before you could help yourself, you instantly wondered if your uniform was sloppy as was your tendency when you just got through rush hour. You even brought a hand to the ponytail on top of your head, smoothing back any stray hairs.

_'Abort mission, abort mission,'_ Your mind screamed.

Instead, you said, "My name's MC."

His eyes glinted as he cleared his throat and pulled together a smile. "I'm Saeyoung."

Your head became a jumbled mess at the smoothness of his voice that sent chills up your spine and you knew at once that this conversation needed to end immediately. Spinning on your feet quickly with your escape route planned out, you barely got one step forward before Saeyoung had your attention again with the the loud shuffling he produced. Glancing over your shoulder, you barely caught sight of him dashing out the door with his laptop tucked safely under his arm. A part of you became tempted to follow him out, but the other half knew how creepy that would be. One conversation didn’t constitute the right to question a person’s behavior.

“MC!” Jaehee suddenly called from behind the counter. Her eyes found yours and the movement of them told you to get back to work.

Pulling a professional smile back to your face, you called, “Coming!”

As you proceeded from table to table to check on for the remainder of your shift, you couldn’t help but let your mind wander to the red haired stranger that knew your boss. It might be selfish of you, but you hoped he came in again.


	2. Day Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone for the great feedback to the first chapter! I hope I don't disappoint any of you with future installments! 
> 
> The only time I had to really write this during the week was at the gym lol so since I'm free on the weekends, I finally got around to editing this. It's sort of short again, but we're just getting started, so please be patient. Again, thank you to everyone who reads and enjoys this. :)

* * *

 

When you woke up the next morning to the sound of the busy streets and got a call from one of the employees you barely kept contact with except for emergencies, asking you to switch to her night shift, you were admittedly relieved. You’d barely been able to sleep last night with your tossing and turning. Having already been situated in bed, you were more than happy to lay back and fall back asleep.

Evening came sooner than you wanted, but you slowly dragged yourself from the warmth of your bed and made your way to the coffee shop. As you walked into work, you instantly regretted agreeing to switching shifts. The volume of people was more than you anticipated and the sound of their voices formed a dull ache in the back of your head.

You quickly wove through the building until you got to the back and dropped off your bag. Pulling your apron from your bag and pulling it on, you put your hair up in a swift hand flick that resulted in a ponytail. Drawing in a deep breath and slowly exhaling, you tried to deflect the headache that was already forming from the chaos outside of the small room you were taking refuge in. The only reassuring thought was that this was a shorter shift than you normally worked and the packed house should at least help the night go by faster.

Without so much as a cue, you emerged from the back and grabbed the nearest coffee pot while patting your apron for your notepad. Satisfied, you rounded the counter.

“Oh, MC!” Jaehee called, exasperated. She appeared from the other side of the shop and waved at you.

“Yes?” You said and watched as she moved closer.

“Can you take care of the newcomers? I’ve got the large party,” She said. A drawn out sigh came from her and she carefully flicked her hair from her shoulders.

“Of course,” You said. Your eyes flickered to hers briefly, tempted to offer her your hair tie. It wouldn’t be so bad if you had your hair down for a while. Besides, she’d most likely been there all day and knowing her work ethic, she’d refused to take a break. “After I take care of them, you should take a break.”

Jaehee sprouted a small smile, but shook her head.

“Please don’t overwork yourself,” You pleaded.

She simply sighed.

Lingering for a moment longer, you finally immersed yourself in the chaos and weaved your way through the tables with your best smile and the occasional flirtatious comment. Most people were receptive, glad to have the distraction from whatever plagued their mundane lives. This continued until you finally found yourself at the table that left you thanking whichever god it was that decided to heed your prayers yesterday.

“Saeyoung,” You said.

He looked up quickly at his name, his glasses askew and his hair a mess. Despite this, a sloppy grin became plastered to his face. “MC! I’ve been waiting for you!”

“You have?” You raised your eyebrows.

His lips curled upwards as he clumsily ran a hand through his hair. “I came here earlier, but Jaehee said you switched shifts. I’ve been here ever since ~!”

The laugh that bubbled from you only served to fuel his dorky smile. “So naturally you wait here all day to see me?”

“Why not? I missed your pretty face.”

The heat that rushed to your face was almost immediate.

Before you could muster up an appropriate response, Jaehee appeared next to you, scorn written across her face directed at the redhead. She barely seemed to notice you as she said, “Didn’t I tell you not to bother my employees?”

Saeyoung gave an exaggerated pout.

“He isn’t bothering me,” You offered.

Noticing you at last, Jaehee’s expression softened. She offered a half smile and said, “He’s a friend of mine, you don’t have to pretend to be nice to him.”

“I’m not pretending,” You argued.

The smile that formed on Saeyoung face couldn’t get any brighter as he wiggled in his seat. “See? We’re having fun~!”

Jaehee gave an exasperated groan before disappearing back to the storm. While you’d felt badly for adding fuel to her frustration, you felt the smile that tugged at your lips prevail when you looked at the redhead again.

“What are you working on?” You asked. Putting your tray under your arm, you shifted on your feet and bounced on the balls of your feet.

“I’m hacking into your fake book profile~” He said with a Cheshire grin while pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“What? You aren’t!” Your eyes widened and before you could help yourself, you were leaping across the table to wrangle the laptop from him.

Saeyoung laughed and maneuvered it away effortlessly.  

When your attempts to retrieve the laptop failed, you huffed. “You weren’t serious, were you?”

He shrugged smugly.

“Well… what did you find then?”

Before you could get an answer, one of the nearby tables called for you with an insistent hand gesture. As you went to cater to them, the smirk from Saeyoung on your way towards them was simply infuriating. It fueled you with a fiery passion as you moved from table to table, sparing him the occasional mock angry glance and feeling your body heat up at the smiles he sent your way in return. He even eagerly waved at you once, calling your name and starting to proclaim his love until Jaehee went over and quieted him down.

This continued until the sun finally disappeared beneath the horizon and you glanced Saeyoung’s way to notice his cheery attitude had faded away to a grim, tight-lipped look paired with absentmindedly chugging his coffee down. His brows knitted together and you found yourself at his table, filling his coffee once just as he placed his cup back down on the table.

You were about to return to the others as you had the past two times, but found yourself paused in front of him. “Seriously, what are you working on?” You asked.

Saeyoung paused and glanced at you. His eyes roamed over you before shaking his head and returning to his typing. The constricting hand in your chest squeezed tightly as you tried to stomach the thought of having to watch him act dismissive a moment longer. He didn’t give you the opportunity before closing his laptop and tucking it under his arm. “Sorry, I have to go now.”

“Bye.”

Saeyoung slid by and disappeared out the door, the chime of the bell the only signal that he truly left. The feeling of your heart sinking to your feet was almost instant. You tried not to let it get to you, but the reminder that he even waited around long enough to see you constantly nagged at the back of your mind. Maybe Jaehee was right and you ought to ignore him. It was just so difficult when he looked and smiled at you like you were the world.

 _I’m just imagining things_ , you thought desperately. _He wouldn’t look at someone he barely knows like that_.

You moved through the rest of your shift like a robot, barely registering your own monotone voice. Even Jaehee appeared to notice as she let you leave an hour early, claiming since it was slow she could manage the shop on her own.

As you had started down the street, bag slung over your shoulder and phone in your hand, you paused when an alert flashed across the phone screen. Frowning and unlocking your phone, you felt a bubbling in your chest as you saw a picture of a smiling Saeyoung show up on your screen. You quickly clicked on the message and read it.

‘ _Sorry about earlier! You can have my face as an apology! Feel free to print it and hang it up to pray to every night ;)_ ’

Rolling your eyes was a natural reaction as you glanced at his picture once more. It was fairly dark in the picture, so you could only assume he’d just snapped the picture. You took longer than you’d like to admit as you typed back what you considered a flirty message.

‘ _lolol will you answer my prayers then?_ ’

Just typing those words in made you feel ridiculous. It wasn’t a normal response to someone you barely knew, you realized, but a part of you felt so close to him already and he seemed the odd type.

 _What am I doing_? You thought. Groaning lowly, you glanced away from your phone to focus on the street you were walking down. No matter how much you wanted to talk to him, you needed to be wary of the area. With this new resolve, you were about to put your phone away when it dinged again.

‘ _anything your heart desires! God Seven Zero Seven at your service!_ ’

‘ _Seven Zero Seven?_ ’

 _Who assigns themselves a name like that? No, he must’ve been given it,_ you decided. The pause between your message and his next one was fairly longer and by now you were only minutes from your apartment, but when he finally replied, you stopped in the middle of your trek and looked at your phone.

‘ _It’s a nickname I used to have. >.<_’

You thought about it for a moment and tried to consider the possibilities, then smiled.

‘ _Are you actually a secret agent? Like 007?_ ’

‘ _Exactly!! You totally get me! God Seven Zero Seven is pleased by your insight!_ ’

You laughed to yourself and paused when you found yourself climbing the steps to your place. You glanced down at your phone, wanting to continue the conversation, but knew you needed to get up early in the morning for work. With a reluctant sigh, you sent one last message.

‘ _I’m home now. Will I see you tomorrow?_ ’

Sliding your phone away, you didn’t wait for a response. Instead, you went through your routine of preparing for bed. Only then, when you were comfortably in bed with your phone on the night stand next to you, did you think to see if he replied.

‘ _Of course! I wouldn’t want to keep my loyal subject from viewing my beautiful face!_ ’

You smiled and held the phone to your chest. You could only hope tomorrow would come faster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure how well I did the text messages or if they were confusing, so if they were for anyone, please let me know so I can find a way to fix it.


	3. Day Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this took longer to finish than I expected. I actually had it sitting here for a while as I had little to no time to edit it, but here it is! As always, thank you to all the support and positive feedback! It really means so much more than you'd think. I hope all of you enjoy this new chapter as things as hopefully picking up a bit more now. :) :)

* * *

 

You were surprised when the next week passed in the blink of an eye. It had been filled with days of laughter and flirting with Saeyoung which often led to scolding from Jaehee. You could barely find it in yourself to mind though as his smile was enough to lift your spirits.

Today was different though as you walked into the shop to find Saeyoung was absent from his normal spot near the corner. You stopped in your tracks and stared for a moment. It occurred to you that he might be running late, but he was unusually prompt with keeping up with his schedule of visiting. Before you could help yourself, you slipped your phone out of your pocket. It was only a matter of seconds before you had the messages between you and Saeyoung pulled up. Skimming through them brought a smile to your face, but your efforts were wasted as there was no indication that he intended to be MIA today.

Without even realizing it, you’d drifted over to the table. To your surprise, a discarded napkin lay in the center of the table. As you were about to grab and toss it, you paused at the sight of some scribbling on the napkin. Squinting, you could barely read the message of: “sorry, I was forced away by work T.T” accompanied by a sketch of Saeyoung being sucked up by a space ship. You were even in the drawing, crying for the departed redhead.

Carefully putting the napkin in your bag, you worked your way to the back room. In a matter of minutes, you were prepared for work and entered your element.

 

* * *

 

As expected, the evening passed slower than usual. You’d begun dragging your feet, a solemn expression finding its way to your face every other table you served. Just as you’d figured the rest of your shift would pass in boredom, the sound of rising chatting caught your attention. Without thinking, you wandered closer to the commotion.

To your surprise, strutting down the street and towards the shop was the actor Zen. You mostly knew his name and face due to the posters and merchandise Jaehee kept in the backroom (you think it was meant to be a secret, but how were you supposed to know there would be a shrine behind the bags of coffee beans). There were also occasional commercials that you managed to catch on your days off showcasing a new series he was a lead in, but that was the extent of your knowledge.

The bell rang as the door was pushed open and Zen walked in, an easy smile in place and dark shades hiding his face as he waltzed straight to the counter. He discarded his shades in one swift movement that was followed by effortlessly sliding onto a bar stool. You barely had time to compose yourself (how does one gather themselves when they're about to meet a celebrity?)  as you hurried behind the counter, scrambling for your pen and notepad.

“Ah, Zen!” Jaehee called, emerging from the backroom. She wiped her flour covered hands on her apron and easily pulled together a vibrant smile, one that you'd never seen on her face.

“Hey, Jaehee,” He said. “Did you forget I was coming today?”

“Of course not,” She huffed. A light pink dusting colored her cheeks as she flicked her long hair from her shoulders. To her credit, her brilliant smile never wavered. “We’ve just been swamped.”

You glanced between the two of them. You knew Jaehee was a fan, but the familiarity between them couldn't possibly be that of simply celebrity and fan. There had to be a story here.

Zen gave a dramatic sigh that involved gripping the counter with both hands and throwing his head back. “To think my divine presence could cause such chaos in your shop.”

“We were busy before you arrived,” You said.

Zen and Jaehee halted their conversation and snapped their heads your way and you realized only then that this wasn’t a conversation you’d been invited to.

You swallowed and shifted uneasily on your feet. “Sorry, I, uh, didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll go, umm, see to some other people.”

“Jaehee! You never told me you had such a cute worker,” Zen mused. He righted his posture and winked. 

“She’s been here from the beginning,” She deadpanned.

“What? I would’ve noticed a cute girl like her before!” He argued. He tilted his head as he held your gaze and grinned. “Hi, I’m Zen~”

“I know who you are,” You mumbled.

“Really? Are you a fan~?”

“Umm… not exactly. I know you because of Jaehee.”

Jaehee glanced at you then, having realized that her store room secret had been discovered. She cleared her throat. “Yes, well, Zen is a one of a kind actor. He can do what only so little can achieve in their entire career.”

“I don’t doubt it,” You said.

“You flatter me~” Zen hummed. "But who am I to argue? I am the perfect specimen, after all."

The pair of them went off on a tangent of a conversation that left you feeling even more confused. A part of you felt a growing need to attend to the other customers, but a quick glance around the shop told you that everyone was so preoccupied staring after Zen that they were letting their drinks get cold. When you figured it was safe, you asked, “How exactly do you two know each other?”

“Hmm?” Zen glanced at you. “Oh! We work together in a charity organization called the RFA. There’s only a few of us, but we’re all like family.”

You glanced at Jaehee. “So, is that how you know Saeyoung…?”

“You know him?” Zen didn't bother to hide his shock.

Jaehee sighed. “He’s been coming in every day for the past week. He’s becoming an annoyance.”

“Wait! So this is her?” Zen looked at you, his eyebrows raised. He slowly returned to his previous swagger and grinned. “Hey, I have an idea. Let’s all take a picture together!”

“Why?” You frowned.

Zen failed to voice a reason as he whipped his phone out and promptly started to take photos. You reluctantly moved in closer, a confused look apparent on your face in almost all of the shots. Not that you could help it. This man was simply too strange for you and not the kind that was endearing.

To your relief, the bell over the door chimed again and you muttered an apology before rushing off to help the new customers. Anything to get away from the awkward situation. You did spare them one last glance only to find Zen chatting animatedly and watching you. The shiver that went down your spine was unnerving.

 

* * *

 

The dark veil of night soon encompassed the streets and as you had the last shift, you helped Jaehee close up. You found yourself unusually quiet, unsure what to say to your boss. Most nights when you helped close, you both were capable of holding the most animate conversations about subjects ranging from the weather to your introspective thoughts.

Sighing, you started to work on wiping down the final tables. You’d become so wrapped up in the task that when someone started knocking against the glass, you shrieked and jumped away. Searching frantically, your thundering heart only pounded harder at the sight of Saeyoung on the other side of the glass, smiling and waving happily. It was another thing to note that he was obviously laughing at your blunder.

Despite yourself, you smiled from ear to ear. You watched as he let himself in the shop, ignoring Jaehee’s sigh as she glanced up from her spot at the counter. “What are you doing, Saeyoung? We’re closed now.”

“I came to see my lady~” He whistled.

“Your lady?” Jaehee deadpanned.

“Ah, my prince finally arrives~” You chime in and smile.

“I should’ve guessed,” Jaehee sighed. “MC, you can go home. I’ll finish up here.”

“You’re sure?” You raised your eyebrows.

“Yes,” She said. “Please just take him with you.”

“I’m just a stray,” He pouted. He quickly pulled a grin together and held up his hands and did a very realistic imitation of a cat.

“Even more the reason for you to leave.”

You laughed. “What do you have against cats? He makes a cute kitty.”

“Meow~”

“I never want to see another cat in my life,” Jaehee mumbled.

“She probably has PTSD whenever she sees a cat now,” Saeyoung laughed. “She just doesn’t appreciate Elly the way she should~”

“Out. Now.”

Saeyoung held up his hands in surrender before backing out of the shop.

You chuckled and disappeared to gather your stuff, then waved on your way out. Pulling your jacket on, you paused next to Saeyoung. You jumped when he reached into your bag and pulled out the napkin you’d stuffed in there hurriedly. You felt a blush creep over your face as you watched his eyes scan over it.

“You kept it?” He glanced at you.

You shrugged. “I thought it was cute.”

“Aww, you think I’m cute~ That’s embarrassing~”

You rolled your eyes and kicked his heel. “You’re ridiculous.”

Saeyoung smiled. “So, I bet you’re wondering why I’m here~”

“To kidnap me to help assist in your evil plan of taking over the world?”

“Close! I came on behalf of the aliens to bring you in for your annual probing.”

“Oh darn, they must’ve realized that I missed last year and needed to hire a hitman.”

He laughed and slung an arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer. “Don’t worry! I’m actually a double agent and will protect you from them. There won’t be any probing on my watch!”

“My hero!”

“Just call me the defender of justice!”

You both laughed then, smiling at each other. Saeyoung appeared to realize something then as he pulled away and stuck his hands in his pockets. He hummed and you instantly saw the tension in his shoulders that signaled the change in atmosphere. You glanced at him as the two of you walked and you tried to think of what had changed him like this?

Pulling out your phone, you glanced at Saeyoung once more before pulling his contact up and sending him a message.

‘ _Hey._ ’

He appeared surprised as he pulled his phone out. One look at it and he glanced at you with a sly smile before replying.

‘ _Hello~_ ’

‘ _do you plan to ignore me the rest of the way to my place?_ ’

Saeyoung stared at his phone. Then he looked at you, slack jawed. “We’re going to your place? That’s a bit presumptuous of you considering we haven’t even been on a date~? What kind of guy do you think I am~?”

You rolled your eyes.

“Lucky for you, I have just the right kind of date in mind~”

You smiled and pulled out your phone. ‘ _is the great 707 asking me out on a date?’_

‘ _lolol if you accept the terms and conditions_ ’

“And what exactly are the terms and conditions?” You nudged him in the side.

“I’m still figuring them out,” He admitted with a sloppy grin.

“Let me know when you figure them out,” You said. “Now, if you don’t mind, we’re at my place.”

Saeyoung blinked and peered past you. Tilting his head, he rubbed the back of his head. “Right, right. The defender of justice has safely seen you home, so fear not and have sweet dreams tonight!”

“Make sure you get some sleep as well,” You said. You leaned forward and kissed his cheek, short and sweet.

Saeyoung instantly flared up, his cheeks almost the same shade as his hair. He stumbled over words that was more of a series of vowels and settled with simply reaching forward and patting your head. He stared for a moment then turned and disappeared down the street.

You smiled to yourself and went inside your apartment. Within minutes of entering, you looked down at your phone and stared at the screen. You half expected Saeyoung to have messaged you again, but the only message was from Jaehee. You opened the message and raised an eyebrow at the picture attached. You recognized yourself and Jaehee, but it took you a few seconds to realize that it was the selfie that Zen took that evening.

Smiling and staring at the photo, you entered your bathroom and turned your bath on. With tomorrow as your day off, a little luxury could be afforded. Which, now that you thought about it, there was an unopened bottle of wine in the kitchen and a new book you’d been dying to dive into. The sigh that escaped past your lips was the result of weeks of stress being relieved. 

 

* * *

 

Outside of his place, Saeyoung sighed deeply. His heart was still thundering and he still couldn't manage to put together another coherent thoughts. Even with his life in some form of order now and freedom on the horizon, the thought of being with someone still made his nerves go on edge. What if someone tried to come after him and put those he loved in danger? The thought made his heart drop to his feet. 

“What you are doing home so late…?”

Looking up, Saeyoung managed to smile brightly at his disheveled younger brother standing near the couch. “I was waiting to make my grand entrance!” He sang.

Saeran frowned.

“Now that you ruined it, I’ll have to settle with a mediocre entrance.” Saeyoung pouted and held out his hands, making grabby hands.

“I’m going to bed,” Saeran grumbled. He was gone in the blink of an eye.

Saeyoung lowered his arms and slowly crossed the room to his bedroom. He didn’t bother to change or strip of his clothes as he collapsed down on his bed head first. Taking his phone from his pocket, he checked his emails among other things before finally clicking on the RFA app he’d made. Checking the chatroom, he noted that Zen and Jaehee were on.

 

* * *

 

 

{1:23 a.m.}

 

_Saeyoung has entered the chatroom._

 

 **Saeyoung** :

> hey hey

 

**Zen:**

> Just the guy I wanted to see!

 

**Saeyoung:**

> oh??

> OH??

> did

> you

> miss

> me

> ???

> !!!

 

**Jaehee Kang:**

> Please don’t take up the whole screen like that.

 

**Zen:**

> Anyways

> I saw your girlfriend~

 

_Zen has attached a photo._

 

**Saeyoung:**

> omg

 

**Jaehee Kang:**

> I hate to say this, but I really must advise against your dating one of my employees.

> As she is also my friend.

 

**Zen:**

> She’s really cute.

> But!

> I feel that I should give you the talk…

 

**Saeyoung:**

> OMG

 

_Saeran has entered the chatroom._

 

**Saeyoung:**

> brother! Help me! T.T

 

 **Saeran** :

> …

> is she why you were out this late?

 

**Zen:**

> WHAT?

 

**Jaehee Kang:**

> you kept her out this late?

 

**Saeyoung:**

> why the interrogation??

> this reminds me!

> of when I worked as a secret agent…

 

**Zen:**

> don’t go off topic!

 

**Saeyoung:**

> whoa!!

> you guys hear that?

> crrshshhh

> ahhhh

> beep beep beep

> my phone’s breaking up!!

 

**Zen:**

> are you kidding me

 

_Saeyoung has left the chatroom._

 

* * *

 

 

Tossing his phone aside, Saeyoung sighed. He’d made a big mess of everything now, hadn’t he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this has any errors, forgive me. I edited this while watching the HTGAWM finale and let me tell you, that left me SHOOK.


	4. Day Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I bet everyone thought this had died. SURPRISE! I honestly got sidetracked from having to work longer hours due to the holidays and being too tired to do anything when I got home.
> 
> This WILL get finished though, you can count on that! As always, thanks to everyone who reads this and enjoys it, it means a lot to me. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter after such a long wait ^^;

The first thing you wake up to is the sound of your alarm blaring throughout the bedroom. Or lack thereof.

When you’d jerked into a sitting position, your head whipped straight to your clock situated on the nightstand next to your bed to find it was already so late in the day that you only had ten minutes to get to work. A string of colorful words were elicited from under your breath as you leapt out of bed. It all became autopilot as your threw your appearance together and collected your keys on the way out.

Everything became a blur as you dashed down the streets while avoiding pedestrians and eventually came upon the small coffee shop located at the corner. As your luck would have it, the shop was unusually packed with customers streaming in and out. There was even a line bordering the length of travelling outside the door.

Groaning, you carefully pushed your way with mumbled apologies to anyone you bumped into a bit too harshly. Despite the turmoil going on around you, your eyes still managed to pinpoint Saeyoung with his disheveled hair and goofy grin that spread as soon as he noticed you. The flip your heart did in your chest was almost too overwhelming as you swallowed thickly and pulled your bag closer to your body.

With a small wave towards the redhead, you scanned around for Jaehee. Finding her with another worker by her side, you took the opportunity to cross the floor to the redhead.

“Hey,” He said cheekily. “You look flustered. Was it in anticipation of seeing me~?”

“Naturally.” You laughed. A sigh escaped then and you added, “My alarm didn’t go off. I think I forgot to put it on last night.”

Saeyoung tilted his head. “I guess I kept you up too late.”

“I don’t mind. I was really happy that you bothered to stay up and talk to me that long.” There was a long pause on his part that made your throat start to go dry. “Uh, so do you know why it’s so busy today?”

Glancing past you, Saeyoung hummed. “Zen offered to help today and I think his fans found out, so here they are.” He raised his hands and rolled them in a grand gesture towards all the people surrounding the both of you.

“Ah. He’s quite the character.”

“You could almost say he’s a potential love interest in this game.”

“I think I’ve already chosen my route,” You snorted.

His laugh was light and airy as he asked, “So did you have time to read my message this morning?”

You shook your head and instantly reached your hand into your bag. As you pulled the phone out, Jaehee called over all the noise, “MC! Get over here!”

"Jaehee keeps us from each other yet, the tragedy!" He mock sobbed.

"Ah yes, the tragedy that is working for a living."

"Capitalism isn't a joke," Saeyoung gasped.

Giving an apologetic smile, you rolled your eyes and parted with Saeyoung to slip into the back room. You flung your jacket over a crate and after giving a quick glance out the door at Jaehee, you looked down at your phone and pulled up Saeyoung’s message.

‘ _hey!! I was thinking it’d be rad if you joined this group I’m in. they’re all a bunch of nerds, but I’m there so it’s good. I’ll send you a link to the app kk bye’_

There was another message below it with a link as promised and before you could help yourself, you clicked on the download button and set the phone on top of your jacket. Pulling together a chipper smile, you emerged from the backroom and joined Jaehee at the counter where it had managed to die down by a fraction. Which, not to your surprise, was from Zen migrating to a table at the other end of the shop.

“Sorry I was late,” You said, already repeating your excuse in your head.

Jaehee shook her head and raised her hand. “Don’t worry about it. You’re always on time, so whatever it was that held you back must’ve been important. I trust you.”

A strange wave of guilt flushed over you as you contemplated admitting that the reason was Saeyoung. She didn’t seem too fond of their interactions or Saeyoung in general, but they were friends, right? Would she be happy to know this or grow annoyed by the prospect of him stealing her employee?

“Thank you, it won’t happen again,” You said.

“Good. Why don’t you go switch roles with Zen. I… don’t think we’ll get much work done if he’s the one taking orders like that.” Jaehee cleared her throat. “Some of the fans don’t know how to control themselves and he needs to preserve his appearance to the world.”

A smile spread on your lips as you nodded and moved onward.

 

* * *

 

 

The end of the day couldn’t have come sooner. The person that was supposed to come in for night shift had called out and being the person you were, you offered to stay at the sight of Jaehee's exasperation. As you’d finally managed to finish stacking the chairs on the tables, your body was one entire ache.

By the time you were dragging your feet towards the backroom and pulling your hair into a messy bun, you pushed aside your jacket and collapsed on top of it with slumped shoulders. You could hear Jaehee singing along to one of Zen’s musical numbers as she cleaned dishes and you would’ve been right there with her, but bless her, she gave you the option to take a break. You didn’t want to, but your body gave you little to no choice. How Jaehee managed to go on this long without a break was still a mystery to you.

Remembering your phone and Saeyoung's message, you clumsily grabbed it. After unlocking the screen, you stared at the background of a cat you’d found on the internet. The thought of Saeyoung came easily to mind and without a moment’s hesitation, you went to the app he’d sent to you. Simply titled RFA, you tapped it and followed the prompt asking for a username and before you knew it, you were taken to a screen giving you the option of checking a text message or joining a chatroom.

It took a mere moment for you to tap the chatroom option and be sent to an active conversation that was rapidly underway.

 

* * *

 

{11:23 p.m.}

 

 _MC has entered the chatroom_.

 

 **Zen** :

> Stop sending me pictures of that damn furball!!

 

 **Jumin Han** :

> You should feel honored to even be allowed to see her beauty.

> If only you’d stop pretending to have a reason to hate her, you’d come to understand my point of view.

 

 **Zen** :

> PRETENDING??

> I HAVE ALLERGIES!!

 

 **MC** :

> Um.

 

 **Jumin Han** :

> Who are you?

> How did a stranger get in here?

 

 **Zen** :

> MC!!

 

 _Zen has attached a photo_.

 

 **MC** :

> When did you take a picture of me working…?

 

 **Zen** :

> Today before I left

> You just looked so cute working so hard

 

 **Jumin Han** :

> I believe it’s quite rude to take and save a photo of a girl without their knowledge.

 

 **MC** :

> I have to agree.

 

 **Jumin Han** :

> Thank you.

> Though, I still don’t know who you are or how you managed to get in here.

 

 **MC** :

> Saeyoung asked me to come.

 

 **Zen** :

> Oh right

> What’s he doing anyways?

> He said he was going to be right back.

 

 **Jumin Han** :

> That was four hours ago.

 

**MC:**

> That’s fine.

> I can talk to you guys. Unless you’d rather get back to your argument.

 

 **Zen** :

> god no

> please stay

> Trust fund kid can leave though

 

 **Jumin Han** :

> Delightful as usual, Zen.

 

 **MC** :

> lolol

> you’re like an old married couple

 

 **Zen** :

> WHAT

 

**Jumin Han:**

> I appreciate your point of view, but I have to object to it.

> Married couples should be happy and in love.

> Both of which Zen is incapable of displaying genuinely.

 

 **MC** :

> omg

> Harsh lol

 

 _Saeyoung has entered the chatroom_.

 

 **Saeyoung** :

> ????

> ???

> ??

 

 **MC** :

> ?

 

 **Saeyoung** :

> !!

 

 **Zen** :

> Stop.

> We get it.

> You came to rub your love in our faces T.T

 

 **Saeyoung** :

> Love??

> LOVE!?

 

 **MC** :

> What an insane idea

 

 **Jumin Han** :

> I see now that you two are a match made in heaven.

> I will wish you the best of luck in your future.

 

 **MC** :

> wow thanks

> if you need any ideas for wedding gifts I need new silverware

 

 **Saeyoung** :

> oh…

> how can I say this…

> MC

> there’s another woman in my life

 

 **Zen** :

> WHAT?

> Since when??

> How could you do this to such a cute girl?

 

 **Saeyoung** :

> Her name is Elly

 

 **Jumin Han** :

> Don’t call her that.

 

 **MC** :

> that’s okay

> I, too, have someone else in my life

> he has a phD

 

 **Saeyoung** :

> could it be…

 

 **MC** :

> I’m afraid so

> his name is pepper…

> we have a child together, I’m sorry.

 

 **Saeyoung** :

> the deception!!

 

 **Zen** :

> am I invisible here??

 

* * *

 

Ice cream tub in hand, Saeran scooped another bout of mint chocolate chip to his mouth. The TV played quietly across from him, but his focus was entirely on his twin situated at the other end of the couch. It had been Saeyoung’s idea they watch this ridiculous show together about cute animals and yet, he’d spent most of it smiling down at his phone and typing furiously. He wasn't even hogging the blanket they shared for these nights like usual. In fact, Saeran had the blanket wrapped around his shoulders snuggly.

The simple act irritated Saeran, so he pulled his own phone out and opened the RFA app. He quickly checked who was in the chatroom and paused at the new name of MC. He remembered the mention of her in the chatroom the other day, but he didn’t think it’d been serious. Not with the way Saeyoung played it off as nothing when asked last night, but now seeing his reaction to the interaction with the girl, Saeran knew what needed to be done.

Going back to the home screen, Saeran tapped on the messages option and clicked on the owner of the most recent message he’d gotten. Yoosung’s cheery way of texting popped up and Saeran quickly messaged him.

The immediate response sent shivers down Saeran’s spine that he qualmed at once by tightening his free hand into a fist. With a long, drawn out breath, Saeran gave one last glance towards his twin before he sent the message asking, ‘ _Can you help me with something?_ ’

‘ _sure! What is it?_ ’

‘ _I want to look into this girl that Saeyoung is interested in._ ’

 _For Saeyoung's own protection_ , Saeran told himself. His twin had sacrificed his life for him and after everything they'd been through together these past few months, he deserved some happiness.

‘ _what girl??_ ’

He groaned at the other boy’s lack of information.

‘ _MC. The one Zen sent a picture of the other day._ ’

‘ _oh!! She was cute’_

‘ _Just do as I say, okay?_ ’

‘ _okay, okay. What’s the plan??_ ’

Saeran sighed and set out to typing up the plan that had formulated in his head.


	5. Day Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *dabs in to existence*
> 
> y'all can thank V route for my return lolol just kidding. I've been meaning to work on this, but I've been swept up with working on my original works. I am playing the game again because I'm ready for my sunshine man V getting a route. Ready to steal Rika's man.
> 
> This chapter takes place from Yoosung's POV, so there's that. I'm so sorry there isn't much MC and Saeyoung, but I can promise the next chapter has some cuteness from them if you get what I mean.
> 
> I literally told myself I was going to write close to 3k for this, so here you guys go.
> 
> Also, as a last note, it's a crime that it took me this long to insert my golden boy Yoosung in here.

Yoosung regretted agreeing to Saeran's plan the moment he stepped foot in to the quiet coffee shop. If it wasn't enough that Jaehee insisted on an interrogation in to his internship under Jumin (he could practically hear her mocking his decision to do so), but MC had yet to show up. It was his only day off the entire week since Saeran hatched his plan and he prayed to anyone listening to have her show up. The idea of disappointing Saeran was an oddly depressing thought.  

He held his phone in his hands, nervously tapping his fingers on them while glancing down at the screen like clockwork. With a picture of MC pulled up, he could feel the sweat beading his forehead and under his arms. 

Why was he so nervous to meet her? 

Swallowing thickly, he glanced over his shoulder and watched as Jaehee raised an eyebrow at him. He'd made an attempt at an excuse for why he was standing in the middle of her shop, but the more time dragged on, the less likely the excuse held believable. He should've known better than to try to fool Jaehee.  

Another look from Jaehee and Yoosung decided right then that he needed to leave, Saeran's plan be damned. He'd just have to stop by the shop extremely early in the morning before going to the C&R building just to see MC. Even if it meant becoming a sleep-deprived zombie to do so.  As his luck would have it, and his luck was never this good, the moment he rushed towards the door, he collided with MC. The momentum was enough to make him stumble backwards and his phone to drop from his hands. The panic that set in was nothing short of his imminent death by embarrassment. 

"I'm so sorry!" She said. She dropped to her knees instantly, snatching the phone laying at her feet and stared at the screen for a long three seconds. 

His face flared to life with heat as he realized what exactly she was seeing. How incredibly strange it must be for a stranger to have her photo on their phone and standing in the place where she works. Saeran hadn't prepared him for this situation. 

"You dropped this," She said slowly. She raised her eyes to him and offered the phone over cautiously, appearing to take in his demeanor. Most likely checking that she wasn't facing her potential stalker turned murderer.  

When he met her gaze at last, he felt the heat expand to his ears as he realized she was much prettier in person with her dark eyes and silky hair cascading down her back. Averting his gaze and pocketing his phone, he mumbled, "Thanks." 

Despite the situation, MC smiled brilliantly and said, "You must be Yoosung with the star." 

"Huh?" 

"From the RFA, right? Please tell me that's you. Otherwise, this just went from awkward to incredibly creepy." 

Yoosung sighed in relief and allowed himself a quirky grin. "Yeah, that's me! I didn't think you'd recognize me since we haven't actually talked yet, so, uh, sorry. I really meant to, but we were never on at the same time and I would've felt weird asking for your number to message you." 

MC shook her head. "Please don't think it's creepy, but I looked at everyone's profile pictures and updates. Which led to... well, fake book." 

"MC!" Jaehee called from the counter, gesturing her over. 

"Guess that's my cue." MC laughed. "Talk to you later?" 

"Yeah, definitely!" 

MC waited a moment before she walked around Yoosung and greeted Jaehee gleefully. 

Yoosung twisted his body and watched from where his feet were rooted in place, relieved to feel his body cooling down from the inferno that had raged within. As Jaehee and MC disappeared to the backroom, it dawned on him that he'd entirely messed up the recon mission Saeran sent him on. He didn't learn anything about MC that could be helpful in Saeran's investigation. 

His phone vibrated with a new message and as he glimpsed at the sender, he mumbled to himself, "Speak of the devil." 

 

* * *

 

 

It had taken nearly an hour for Yoosung to finish his trek to the meeting spot Saeran had given him. As he stepped off the bus and slung his bag over his shoulder, he glanced around anxiously. He'd been to this part of town before to meet up with Saeyoung, but it felt entirely different meeting with Saeran. 

Despite the months that had passed and the progress Saeran had made since they'd first met, the guy still scared him at times. He was constantly pushing the thought away though, determined to see beneath the layer of crude remarks.  

Yoosung quickly merged with the crowd of people and kept pace with them until he came to the small downtown area lined with shops and a designated area with benches and tables for relaxation. He scanned it and easily spotted the vibrant red hair that Saeran had come to adopt once more. He hastened his steps, only to slow when he noticed that there was in fact a pair of redheads with one being obscured from view thanks to a tree. The way Saeran messaged him to come immediately, he figured he'd be alone for the information he had. Even if he didn't have much to give. 

Piecing together a bright smile, Yoosung nearly skipped the remaining steps and raised his hand in a wave.  

Saeran glanced over the ice cream cone in his hand and narrowed his eyes. As if he was in fact annoyed at the new addition to the party rather than the reason for it. 

"Oh!" Saeyoung grinned from ear to ear as he noticed Yoosung. "What do I owe the pleasure? Come to pay your respects at last? Don't worry, I accept all forms of payment."

Laughing awkwardly more for his own sanity, Yoosung rubbed the back of his head. He said, "Not exactly. It was, uh, so random that we ran in to each other. Right?" 

Saeyoung tilted his head, eyes flickering between Saeran and Yoosung. A cheshire grin stretched across his face as he asked, "You want some ice cream?" 

"S-Sure," Yoosung said. 

With a twitch of his mouth, Saeyoung started to hum before leaping up and bounding away in the direction of the shops. Once he disappeared around a corner, the remaining pair met gazes and Yoosung promptly occupied Saeyoung's empty seat. 

"So?" Saeran deadpanned. 

"Is your ice cream good?" Yoosung asked, nodding towards the cone. 

Saeran's mint eyes looked down at his similarly colored ice cream before returning to Yoosung. He said, "Yes. That's not why I asked you to come here, though." 

Laughing stiffly, Yoosung turned his attention to the crowd of people enjoying their time out on the bright and cloudless day. He nervously toyed with his phone that was now in his hand and flipped it open. His screensaver of the sky on a cloudy day popped up and he typed in his password so fake book opened up, MC's profile already pulled up. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd spent the entire bus ride over checking the profile. 

"I didn't really get anything on her other than mentioning she had a fake book profile," Yoosung said. 

Saeran frowned. "Who doesn't have one?" 

"You have one?" Yoosung raised his eyebrows, surprised how quickly he asked. 

"Saeyoung made one for me," He stated plainly. Upon noticing the glint of curiosity in Yoosung's eyes, he added, "Don't try friending me or anything." 

Smiling, Yoosung said, "Oh yeah, of course not. That'd be really uncool. Don't want to have people thinking we're friends." 

"Are you making fun of me?" 

"No!" Feeling heat rising on his cheeks, he said, "It was supposed to be a joke." 

Saeran stared, then turned his attention to the fake book profile. "We should hack in to her account." 

"What? No! That'd be an invasion of her privacy! Besides! You shouldn't be doing stuff like... that, anymore... right?" 

"You said you wanted to help me." 

"Yeah, but not like this! She was really nice and cute, she wouldn't be up to anything like, evil, right?" 

"That doesn't mean she can't have bad intentions. Initial impressions are the best way to judge someone's character." 

Yoosung snapped his mouth shut at that, not wanting to admit he thought the same way. He'd just convinced himself that was the situation with Saeran, but he didn't want to believe someone as nice as MC could mean any harm.  

When the blond didn't add to the conversation, Saeran took the phone from his hands and scrolled through the page at an alarmingly fast pace. He paused for a long moment at one point before he raised his eyebrows at Yoosung. He said, "It says she attended Sky University. Isn't that where you go?" 

"Hey! Yeah, it is. That's so cool," Yoosung beamed. "When'd she graduate? Maybe we'd already met before! Wouldn't that be awesome? Kind of like a meant to be thing?" 

"You watch too many romance movies," Saeran mumbled. Then, he cleared his throat. "She graduated this year. Majored in art." 

Yoosung tilted his head. "Really? There isn't that big of a program for art there." 

"When do you go back to classes?"  

"It's summer vacation, so... not for another month, why?" 

"It could've been helpful to find out who remembers her." 

"Ah... you're treating her like she's some sort of villain." 

"Considering the sort of life Saeyoung has lived up to now, you can't be too cautious." 

Yoosung parted his lips to counter the statement, but snapped them shut when he saw Saeyoung returning with more ice cream in hand. As he got close, he handed the cone to Yoosung and sat on Saeran's other side.  

A goofy grin spread as Saeyoung said, "What were you two lovebirds chatting about~?" 

"L-love birds?" Yoosung said, his cheeks flaring up again. 

"So scandalous~" Saeyoung teased. 

"Stop interfering," Saeran said. Even then, he continued to go through Yoosung's phone, causing the blond to bite his tongue to keep from commenting on the hypocrisy.  

"What are you looking at?" Hummed Saeyoung, leaning toward to see the screen. 

Before he could get the chance, Saeran shoved the phone back to Yoosung and glowered at Saeyoung. He said, "I'm ready to go." 

Smiling sheepishly, Yoosung stuffed the phone in to his pocket. "Guess I'll see you guys later." 

"Bye~" Saeyoung sang. 

The twins got to their feet and started away from the shopping area, undoubtedly towards one of Saeyoung's "babies" as he often called them. He briefly wondered if it would be the one Saeyoung bought to replace the one Jumin had crashed.  

On his own, Yoosung swiftly gathered his belongings in his arms and maneuvered the cone to bring it to his lips and was met with the blissful contrast against the summer heat. Having elicited a silent moan, he moved to take another lick only to find himself stumbling over his own feet and the cone shooting to the ground.  His mouth fell open as he stared at the fallen ice cream. 

He supposed his luck had ended for the day. 

 

* * *

 

 

The minute Yoosung finally found his way home, he dropped his bag to the ground and plopped on to his bed face first. He groaned loudly in to his bedding and closed his eyes where he was welcomed by static and stars. Even after a long day of doing Saeran's dirty work and getting lost trying to find his way home, he was still wide awake. He knew he could only blame his gaming habits of staying up so late in the night for his internal wiring. 

With a resigned sigh, he struggled to roll on to his back. He stared at the ceiling for a brief moment, counting the stars that Saeyoung has forced him to put up a few weeks ago before he heard a chime from his phone. Pulling it out, he opened it to find an alert from the RFA app for a new chatroom. After opening the app and staring at the new chatroom and finding only MC was logged on, he hesitated before opening it. 

 

* * *

  

{1:03 a.m.}   

 

 _Yoosung ☆ has entered the chatroom._  

 

**MC:**

> oh, hey!! 

> I wasn't sure if anyone else was awake lol 

> I just wanted to try making a chatroom 

> what's up 

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> I just got home 

> sleep is for the weak haha 

 

**MC:**

> oh~ 

> a long night out with a lover perhaps? 

> maybe a vigilante that spends their nights looking to stop evil doers???   

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> haha 

> I wish T.T 

> sadly I'm a forever alone...   

 

**MC:**

> then what were you doing out all night?   

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> walking around 

> why are you awake??   

 

**MC:**

> I'm off tomorrow 

> I'm splurging on non-sleep lolol 

> embracing my vampire tendencies   

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> vampire...?   

 

**MC:**

> lolol

> I vant to suck yer blood   

 

 **Yoosung ☆:**  

> w-what?? 

> I mean...  

> if you want to... 

> I wouldn't stop you >.<   

 

_Zen has entered the chatroom._

 

_Zen has attached a photo._

 

**MC:**

> ooohh 

> you're really sweaty, huh   

 

 **Zen:**  

> I just finished at the gym~ 

> you should join me next time ;p   

 

 **MC** : 

> oh 

> you lost me there   

 

 **Yoosung ☆:**  

> lololol   

 

**Zen:**

> what's so funny? 

> if anything you ought to be crying at the beauty that is my body   

 

**MC:**

> you're really confident in that 

> not that it's a bad thing, it's actually endearing lol   

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> what???   

 

**Zen:**

> lololol 

> even MC recognizes the masterpiece that I am 

> not that I'm surprised. 

> you should take notes, Yoosung 

> I am the master of love, after all~   

 

 _Jumin Han has entered the chatroom._  

 

 **Zen:**  

> a good thing can never last, can it?   

 

**Jumin Han:**

> Pleasant as ever, I see. 

> Yoosung, you're on. 

> I wanted to inform you that you need to come to the office an hour earlier than usual to deal with some business. 

> Don't be late again.   

 

**MC:**

> You work together?   

 

**Jumin Han:**

> Yes, he's working as an intern this summer.   

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> more like a servant...   

 

 **Zen** :  

> bet you wish school was coming back sooner, huh? 

> then you can quit dealing with the trust fund kid   

 

 **MC:**  

> Is it really that bad?   

 

**Jumin Han:**

> Is there something you'd like to tell me, Yoosung?   

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> o-of course not 

> uh 

> gotta go! LOLOL calls for me!   

 

* * *

 

 

Staring at the screen, Yoosung flinched when it vibrated with an alert to a new text message. When he saw Jumin's name pop along with the message, he instinctively went to close the app when another message popped up with Saeran's name instead. That time, he clicked on the message instantly and was brought to their string of messages. 

 _'I hacked her account._ ' 

Yoosung's jaw dropped, more from the straightforward statement than the proclamation. He knew it would come to this, but he couldn't help that he wanted to believe otherwise.  _'you didn't do anything to it did you??_ ' He replied. 

The response came faster than Yoosung expected. _'no, but she did have friend requests from zen and as I was logging out, one came from saeyoung_.' 

_'aww he likes her'_

_'I deleted it._ ' 

 _'what??? why??!?'_  

There was a long pause that gave Yoosung time to climb off his bed and cross the room to his desk. Situating himself in his chair, he booted up his computer and pulled up LOLOL. His eyes flicked to his phone and watched as a plethora of messages popped up. He only focused on the last one though that read: ' _Saeyoung just told me that MC friended him instead._ ' 

A slight smile formed as Yoosung imagined how happy Saeyoung must have been. He was his best friend and wanted him to be happy, but to see Saeran actively trying to stop it concerned him. A part of him understood and related – if Rika had turned out to be alive and he could help her, he wouldn't want anyone else to be around to take her attention away.  

With that in mind, he replied, _'Maybe you should let them be together?_ ' 

 _'We still don't know anything about her._ ' 

 _'Is that so bad? Saeyoung knows how to take care of himself... he's probably already researched her extensively, too._ ' 

 _'He'll let his feelings get in the way._ ' 

Yoosung sighed. No matter how much he wanted to fight for Saeyoung's right to love, he knew Saeran was too stubborn to oppose. Glancing at his computer screen, he texted, _'wanna play LOLOL?_ ' 

 _'Sure._ ' 

 _'talk to you there!! :)_ ' 

' _whatever_.' 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen I'm really craving mysme au's, so if anyone has any good recs or has written any, please let me know!! I'm specifically looking for a single parent au or a fantasy LOLOL based au. I mean... if no one's written anything for that stuff though, there's a good chance my glutton self will write them lmao
> 
> Again, thank you to everyone who reads this!! :)


	6. Day Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> V route isn't out yet, I'm going to riot.
> 
> Hope everyone enjoys this chapter! :) I had a lot of fun writing it.

Heat pounded on your exposed back and neck as you trekked through downtown Seoul. With the weekend here and the beautiful weather revealing its brilliant face, you weren't surprised to find the streets packed with a mixture of locals and tourists. It was inconvenient when you trying to get to the heart of the city in decent time, but a part of you felt pride to find people from around the world that loved your home as much as you did.

Crossing the street, you veered off the main walking path towards a less populated area that you recognized instantly as the art scene. It was more of a gravitational pull that forced you to waltz over, you realized, your eyes glazing over as you processed all the works on display and the lively music that thrummed from deeper in the labyrinth. A toothy grin formed instantly, flinging out compliments to all the artists you passed. Eventually, you found yourself drawn to a crowd that had formed around a band of musicians and street performers.

Bliss floated to your head as you bobbed it along to the upbeat tune and you maneuvered closer to get a better view. As you did so, you glanced up at a tall figure that had approached and rooted themselves at your side. The first thing you noticed was their tailored suit and as your eyes traveled further up, you stopped at their chiseled jaw structure. The flutter in your chest made you look away as quickly as you had turned towards them.

"MC?" A deep voice said.

Glancing up through thick lashes, you tilted your head. As you stared at the stranger, it dawned on you at once exactly who it was. "Jumin! Oh, or should I call you Mr. Han?" You laughed awkwardly, your hand going to toy with your hair out of habit. Even having taken the time to put your hair in an elaborate braid, you picked strands out to join the ones molded to your neck with sweat.

"Why would you call me Mr. Han?" He hummed. "You don't work for me, so it's just Jumin.

"Yeah, of course, pssh. I knew that," You said.

He made no sound then, no signal that he acknowledged your words except for his piercing eyes. Before you realized it, you brought a hand to cover what little cleavage was showing with your loose and airy shirt. You cleared your throat, drawing his gaze to meet yours.

"What are you doing here?" You asked. "In the chatroom last night, you said you had a meeting in the afternoon. You're not skipping out on it, are you?"

"No, the client decided they wanted to meet here."

"Really? Why?"

Jumin shook his head. "They deal in art, so I suppose they wanted to get an idea for the local market."

"Makes sense," You said.

"I wouldn't have come if it didn't."

Bouncing on your feet anxiously, you scanned the area before you said, "Where's Yoosung? Wouldn't your intern have joined you?"

"I sent him to watch the client, to see what they paid the most attention to."

"For a conversation topic?"

"To purchase them whichever piece they liked best as a sign of goodwill."

Laughing slowly, you said, "Maybe I should trick Yoosung in to picking a piece of art I like, so I can convince the client to give it to me."

Jumin looked at you and raised his eyebrows. "Yoosung did mention your interest in art. If you like, I could buy you a piece to commemorate our officially meeting."

"He what?" You deadpanned.

"Was he misinformed?"

"No, I just-"

"Then I don't see the problem."

You stared at him and loosed a sigh, learning there was no appealing to Jumin's empathy. Even if you tried to explain why your interest in art had waned, it would be fruitless. Which, now that you thought about it, you never mentioned your interest to anyone in the RFA. How did Yoosung know that about you?

As if your thoughts called out to him, Yoosung came trotting over with an exasperated expression. He tried to pull it together when he found Jumin watching him, but with his breathing still ragged, it was pointless. As he came to a full stop and noticed you, he smiled brightly and waved eagerly.

"Hey MC!" He said. "It's so cool to run in to each other, right? At least that's one good thing to happen today."

You smiled in return.

"There's no time for chit chat," Jumin interrupted. "We have work to do, so tell me what you discovered."

The moment Yoosung's shoulders sagged and turned towards his boss, you took it as your cue and eased away from the scene. Once away from the danger zone, you started to head towards a nearby bus stop and faltered as you found yourself in front of an art supply store you used to frequent months ago. The minute you saw your reflection in the glass, your heart sunk to your feet and you wished to stomp on it mercilessly.

With your feet cemented to the ground and a siren's song calling you to go inside, you had to fight your desire. No matter what temptation was laid at your feet and appealed to your heart, your brain worked it's magic and reminded you that there wasn't a point to any of it. Your art hadn't been good enough then, it wouldn't be good enough now. Especially having slacked in practicing in any form save for napkin art that always ended up in the trash bin.

The chime of your phone pulled you back down to earth and as you looked to it, you raised an eyebrow at Jaehee's name. Pulling the message up, you read: ' _I'm sorry to bother you on your day off, but there's an emergency at the store. Would it be possible for you to stop by for a brief time?_ '

Biting the inside of your cheek and your finger hovering over the keyboard, you were tempted to tell her off for even suggesting giving up your free time, but you couldn't cave to your desire. Jaehee was more than just a boss, she had become your best friend and she wasn't someone to ask a favor unless she truly needed it.

With a resigned sigh, you replied, ' _Of course! I'll be there in 30_.'

' _Thank you._ '

A small smile formed on your lips as you tucked your phone away and jogged to make it to the bus stop in time as the others already started to board.

 

* * *

 

 

With your bag slung over your shoulder, you rounded the final corner and finished your trek to the coffee shop. As you got closer, you realized the shop wasn't as packed as usual on the weekend and you briefly wondered why Jaehee would ask you to come in. From what you'd gathered, she was good at numbers and predictions and if anything, she could probably let someone go home from day shift.

You ignored the facts laid out before you and thrust the door open and walked in, pausing at the sight of Saeyoung in front of you almost instantly. He wore a wide grin that wobbled slightly as he backed up with a shaky laugh. The entire process was strange, but you nudged it aside and smiled at him. Even now, he was unbearably cute.

"I was beginning to wonder when I'd see you again," You teased.

He laughed. "Sorry, but don't worry! I've come to make it up to you!"

"Really? And how's that?" You raised an eyebrow and readjusted your grip on your bag to be tighter.

"I've decided on the terms and conditions to allow us a date~" He said happily.

The smile that formed on his face was contagious enough to spread to your own and as you glanced past him to where Jaehee was pouring coffee at the counter, she met your gaze and shook her head. She was in on this. The thought made you want to run to her and pull her in to a tight embrace and praise her until the sun set.

"And what are they? I'm not going to have to offer the blood of a virgin, am I?"

"Nah, besides, if that's what I wanted you to do, you'd have to track Yoosung down and I don't think Jumin would appreciate his intern bled dry," Saeyoung said. "No! What I've decided is much better!"

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Impatient~?"

Shifting on your feet, you were surprised when you said, "Sort of. I've been waiting for you to finally ask me out."

"Oh," He said. Slack jawed, he took a few seconds to recover and this time, his demeanor shifted towards shyness accompanied by his cheeks tinting pink. He cleared his throat and said, "Of course I'm going to tell you, but first, our date!"

You tilted your head. "But terms and conditions need to be read before doing the deed."

"No one reads the terms and conditions," He said with a wave of his hand. "Come on, we've got a long night ahead of us!"

Without missing a beat, you nodded along and surrendered your hand when he snatched it up with his own. He waved enthusiastically to Jaehee and called over the hum of the crowd, "Thanks again, Baehee~! You're a real-life savior, I owe you one~! If you want a bag of honey buddha chips, just let me know. I might even throw in a second one if you ask nicely."

The bland expression on Jaehee's face was almost comical if it hadn't become her normal reaction to Saeyoung. Despite the guilt you felt gnawing at the back of your mind, your euphoria won out and you used your free hand to cover your mouth to stifle your laughter.

Once the both of you were outside the shop and starting down the street, it dawned on you that you were holding hands. The warmth that spread from that point up to your face made you lower your eyes to the ground as you felt the butterflies dancing in the pit of your stomach. You were extremely conscious of how small your hand was in his and found yourself grinning at the concept of it.

"Over here~!" Saeyoung sang as he tugged you towards a parking lot.

Going along with him until he came to a sleek silver car in what you figured was an expensive model, you raised your eyebrows at him. "This is yours?" You asked.

"Don't sound so surprised," He feigned hurt and brought a hand to his chest. "I have nice things, too. Jumin isn't the only one allowed to have pretty things~."

"To be fair, I don't know _that_ much about you. It _is_ a nice car."

He beamed at the compliment and chuckled. He said, "My babies are my pride and joy."

"Your babies?" You laughed.

"You mock me!" He gasped.

"No, no! It's cute, really!" Your laughter became louder.

A warm smile spread and Saeyoung leaned across you and opened the passenger door. "Then climb on in~ I've got a great night planned for us."

"Are you sure it won't involve sacrificial ceremony?" You said.

He smirked. "No hints."

"Sound sort of suspicious."

He winked and held out his hand, clearing his throat. "Do you trust me?"

Smiling slowly, you took his hand and said, "I do." Then, after a heartbeat, you added, "Nice cheesy Aladdin reference."

"Cheesy is my style," He said.

You rolled your eyes and climbed in to the car, strapping your seatbelt on. The minute Saeyoung slid in to his seat and started the car, he hummed, "I love when my baby purrs for me~."

The butterflies returned in that instant and you tried to play it off with laughter, but your eyes subconsciously honed in on his hand gripping the shift stick; his fingers reminded you of how much larger his hands were than yours. Swallowing thickly, it was an effort to reel your thoughts back in as you realized Saeyoung had been talking to you the entire time.

All you could think to do to avoid acknowledging your train of thought, you said, "Let's put some music on."

"Good idea," He chimed. "Set the mood~."

You pressed your head back against the leather seat and squeezed your eyes shut tightly. Why couldn't you get your mind out of the gutter?

 

* * *

 

 

After nearly three hours passed of driving and the sun preparing to dip below the horizon, you beamed as you arrived at the coast. Leaning forward, you brought your hand to your hair as it whipped around in the wind from the open window. 

You'd hardly been to the coast in all your years and seeing it now, it was no wonder it was a popular vacation destination. The cerulean water stretched on for miles to meet with the pinks and purples of an oil painted sky reaching down to welcome it with open arms. The beach was just as impressive with its white sand that appeared unmarred despite the knowledge otherwise.

"It's beautiful," You said. Then, realizing you couldn't be heard over the roar of the wind and the music, you twisted your body towards Saeyoung and repeated it.

He smiled brilliantly and replied, "I knew you'd think so. We can stop at the beach if you want."

"Why not?" You shrugged.

With the confirmation, he pulled off the road a few minutes later and the both of you got out. Meeting at the front of the car, you looked up at him and said, "Do we go in? I don't have a spare change of clothes."

He shrugged. Then, a mischievous smile spread as he grabbed your hand and bolted towards the water, hauling you along behind him. It easily elicited a delighted laugh as you stumbled over your footing trying to pull your shoes off along the way. You barely got them off before you felt the water consuming your feet and then most of your thighs.

"Ah!" You yelped at the sudden contrast of temperature. As you turned to escape the water, Saeyoung grabbed and picked you up, spinning you around while delighting in your squeals.

"Put me down!" You laughed.

After another spin, he lowered you back in to the water and gave a lopsided grin. He said, "Sorry~ I couldn't help myself."

You pouted at him before quickly swatting water up at him and soaking his shirt through. His sheer surprise made you laugh harder and as you started to offer an apology, water hit your face and knocked you back. Wiping your face, you peered up at the redhead with wide eyes to watch him bent forward laughing with his arms encircling himself.

"Oh," You hummed. "You're so on!"

"Huh?"

In a swift movement, you splashed the water at him vigorously. That alone started the water fight as you chased and splashed each other during the entirety of the sun set until it finally plunged below the horizon and brought out the moon with her star children. As the cold ushered in, the you made the trek back to the car and leaned against the hood.

With a deep sigh, you shimmied further back on the hood and laid your hands on your stomach. You smiled and stared at the night sky, admiring the stars and the way they returned your expression.

"I love the stars," Saeyoung sighed. "Makes me want to go to live in a space station where I can see them forever."

"Be free of all the bad people on Earth," You said.

"Exactly."

Silence stretched out between the two of you for what felt like an eternity before you felt Saeyoung grabbing your hand and squeezing it. In a goofy voice, he asked, "Want me to point out all the different constellations?"

"Are you going to do it in that voice?" You smiled.

"Nah," He said. "I was thinking Shrek."

"Does that make me Donkey?"

"Obviously," He snorted.

You hummed. "Guess we shouldn't tell Fiona what's going on between us, huh?"

He turned his head towards you and asked, "What's going on between us~?"

Turning your head so you could see him as well, you said, "I'll let you know by the end of the date."

He stared in to your eyes for a long moment with a warring twinkle in his eyes before his voice dropped and he asked in a similar tone, "Can I kiss you?"

Feeling the heat rising all at once, you nodded. There was hesitation in his tense position before he shifted forward and you met him halfway, awkwardly maneuvering a hand to his face as he hovered over you. As he stared down at you and you felt your chest ready to explode, you had to remind yourself that you'd kissed people before. This wasn't a new trial that you were going in to blind. Yet, when you focused on his cherry lips and the temptation they offered, you knew there was no possibility of thinking in the situation.

As he leaned down, your eyes fluttered shut in time for the soft pressure of his lips on yours. You threaded your hand through his hair (which was surprisingly like silk) and after the moment of a gentle kiss came to an end, you pulled him down. Harder, more forceful. It seemed like a dam broke then as his hand went from its place on the car holding him up to your neck and he tilted his head to apply the pressure you desperately sought.

When Saeyoung moaned against your mouth, a plead you recognized in your own longings, you parted your lips and invited him in. He accepted greedily and dived in, claiming dominance speedily as he positioned a hand to tightly grip your wrist that had been resting at your side. Moving your hand above your head and holding it there, he broke the kiss and gazed down at you with glazed over eyes that you almost barely recognized as his.

He didn't wait long before dipping his head to your neck and placing a quick kiss before applying the same thorough treatment to it as he had you mouth. Your eyes rolled back behind closed eyelids, your body reacting in an arch that only allowed him more access to your neck. The heat coursing through your body at this point was almost unbearable, you were a volcano waiting to burst.

"Saeyoung," You murmured.

He groaned in response.

"Saeyoung," You said, a bit more clearly albeit your resolve was weakening.

"Hm?" He murmured against your neck.

Your eyebrows caved in as you felt a vibration against your thigh. "Your, um," You said.

He pulled away, staring at you before realizing what you were getting at. In a quick movement, he stepped back and took his phone from his pocket. He laughed and held it up as he said, "Just my phone."

You chuckled stiffly in response. As he answered the call, you cleared your throat and sat up while running a hand through your hair that had come undone from its braid. All your brain could manage to do was return to the previous scene and where you had wanted it to go, so you forced it away by focusing on gripping your thighs tightly. When that didn't work, you started taking deep breaths and counting sheep beneath your breath.

When Saeyoung pocketed his phone again, he gave you a sheepish smile. "Sorry," He said. "That was my brother, he needs me to come home."

It was an effort not to let your disappointment show. "Guess we need to get Cinderella back before the strike of twelve, huh?"

"Oh, we're cutting it close," He said. "Time to show you what my baby can really do~."

You grinned and winked. "I'm ready if you are."

He returned the gesture and leaned forward, pecking you on the cheek before going to the car door. He climbed in and you followed suit. In a matter of seconds, he was revving the engine and smirked at you. Then, you were back on the road and speeding back towards Seoul.

 

* * *

 

 

It was exactly two minutes before midnight by the time Saeyoung got to your apartment complex. You raised your eyebrows at him and started a slow clap before you said, "I'm impressed."

"I strive to please," He said proudly.

Blushing at his words, you undid your seatbelt and started to get out of the car when Saeyoung pulled you back to place another kiss to your lips. You smiled against him and as you dragged yourself away, you said, "Don't want your car to turn in to a pumpkin. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

You smiled and walked away, shutting the door behind you. With a last glance over your shoulder at Saeyoung with his lopsided grin, you trotted up to the building and went in. As you made your way to your apartment, you couldn't contain your dreamy sighs and reimagining your date. When you made it inside and moved through your nightly routine, you climbed in to bed and looked down at your phone, surprised to find multiple private messages in the RFA chatroom.

Cuddling up to your pillows and comforter, you tapped on the app and went directly to the messages. There was a good amount from Jaehee and even one from Jumin that made you curious, but you focused on Jaehee's. As you got to the bottom of the messages, you started to type out a response when your phone started to ring with a phone call from the woman.

"Hello?" You said slowly.

"Oh, good, you're awake," Jaehee said. "I just wanted to check in to see that you'd gotten home safely. When you hadn't replied to any of my messages... I'm sorry, I should know to trust Saeyoung and more importantly, you."

"Jaehee... thank you, but you're right. We just got carried away."

"Carried away?" She asked with a lilt in her voice that made you choke on your words.

"Talking!"

Jaehee laughed. "Sorry, yes. I wouldn't insinuate anything otherwise."

You could barely contain the smirk that formed. "Guess you know I'm safe and alive now, huh?"

"I'm glad to hear it."

As you start a response, you pull your phone away and watch a text message alert pop up from Saeyoung. "Hey, wait a second," You said. Pulling the message up, you smiled as you read it.

' _You asked the great seven zero seven to send you a message the day after_ _our_ _date and so now he has!! I can't wait to see you again~_ '

"Saeyoung just texted me," You said. "He's so cheesy."

"Everyone has their type," Jaehee said. "I should let you go. I'll see you at work tomorrow. Good night."

"Night, Jaehee."

Ending the phone call, you pulled the comforter over your head and grinned like a fool as you started to text rapidly with Saeyoung for a few more hours until you passed out from simple exhaustion with the rising sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jumin supports the arts and you can fight me on that one.
> 
> I really considered changing the rating on this story just because of that kiss scene lolol why am I like this I got so embarrassed writing it. I. AM. AN. ADULT!! 
> 
> Last note, Saeyoung took MC to Gyeongpo Beach. I googled best beaches in South Korea and this one was recommended for day trips and such, so that's what I went with.


	7. Day Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally going to break this chapter up in to two parts, but decided what the hell. Have this long chapter that I admittedly put off editing for a few days due to its length. 
> 
> Also! I changed the rating for now to M since there is alcohol usage and mention. Sorry to anyone this might inconvenience! >_<
> 
> I'm going to be honest. As a love interest, Zen is my least favorite (it was an effort to do the april fools dlc lol), but I really like the idea of him as the big brother type to MC. I just thought I'd put that out there. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and let me know what you thought! Thank you for reading! :)

{7:30 a.m.} 

 

_MC has entered the chatroom._  

 

**Zen:**

> It was the strangest thing though 

> I woke up in a cold sweat  

> I really hope it wasn't one of my prophetic dreams.   

 

**MC:**

> What dream?   

 

**Zen:**

> Oh! Good morning, MC~ 

> I didn't think you'd be up this early 

> what a special occasion that I get to talk to you before work~   

 

**Yoosung ☆:**  

> … 

 

**MC:**

> Hiya, Yoosung 

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> Hey, MC  

> Zen was talking about his dream involving you   

 

**MC:**

> Oh?   

 

**Zen:**

> Don't say it like that! 

 

**MC:**  

> having fantasies about me, huh?   

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> lololol 

> he knows he can't have you so he dreams of you now 

> lol   

 

**Zen:**

> that's not at all what I said! 

> Don't listen to word he says, MC 

> I was saying how my dreams are prophetic 

 

**MC:**

> ya 

> I read that part   

 

**Zen:**  

> okay, so 

> I had dream of you and there was a lot of static 

> then you were looking in a mirror but it wasn't you looking back 

> the mirror just shattered and there was a loud noise and the dream ended 

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> it doesn't sound prophetic 

> mirrors break all the time?? 

 

**MC:**

> ya but it gives you bad luck   

 

**Zen:**

> that's why I said I hope it was just a normal dream 

> I don't want to think about if anything happened to you   

 

**MC:**

> I can take care of myself lolol 

 

**Zen:**

> okay but call me if you don't feel safe 

> I've got to start heading to rehearsals

> but I'll answer if you call! 

 

**MC:**  

> thanks 

> have a good day, Zen   

 

**Zen:**

> Bye~   

 

_Zen has left the chatroom._  

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> he didn't even give me the chance to say good bye??   

 

**MC:**

> he was probably running late lolol 

> which reminds me, I should start get going 

> working a double today T_T   

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> I'm sorry T_T 

> if it's any consolation I feel like my body is dying 

> idk how Jaehee worked for Jumin so long 

> he's killing me slowly   

 

**MC:**

> ask him for a day off 

> or hold his cat for ransom until he gives you time off   

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> he would fire me!!   

 

**MC:**  

> worth a try lol 

> gotta go, I'll talk to you later~   

 

**Yoosung ☆:**

> have a good day 

> and make sure to eat three meals a day!!   

 

**MC:**

> lol 

 

* * *

 

 

Shoving your phone in to your pocket, you crossed the bathroom to the mirror and promptly started to fix your hair. Even with a double shift that would usually be a drag for you after little to no sleep (no coffee either, for that matter), you found you were still riding off of the high that yesterday had given you.  

You'd recounted it about a million times by now, the kiss particularly, but you hadn't felt this good in years. Most relationships had failed spectacularly and it never bothered you too much – they weren't the sort of love that sonnets were written about. This... thing with Saeyoung though, it was poetic.  

With a final tug on your ponytail, you strung together a smile that you were surprised to find was genuine. Making your way out of the bathroom and back behind the counter to start working on the orders you saw piling up, a sharp and melodic whistle caught your attention. Glancing up, you raised your eyebrows at the sight of Zen standing before you with his hand raised in a wave. Even the sight of him in sweats and a tank plastered to his sweaty body was a shock to you. How could it even be legal to make sweats appear attractive while utilizing them for their intended use? 

"Hey MC," He said in a sultry tone that could only come from a loss of breath. Crimson flushed his cheeks as he pulled his earbuds from his ears and met your gaze. "I wanted to check up on you. Make sure you were okay." 

You smiled. "I'm doing just fine. No need to worry. Just don't tell Jaehee-" 

"Don't tell me what?" Jaehee said, at your side in an instant. Had you not been used to her silent footsteps, you would've shrieked like a banshee while clawing your way over the counter to safety. 

Zen laughed nervously in your place and said, "Hey Jaehee, you look great today." 

She blinked once. Twice. Then, she looked at him with star clouded eyes, the question seemingly forgotten as she grinned. "So do you, but you always do, so it isn't a fair comparison. I do wonder why you're here. My shop isn't anywhere near your normal jogging route." 

"I thought it'd be nice to stop in here and see how you were doing. Get some coffee and breakfast."  

Her smile grew substantially. "I'll get to it, then." 

"Are you going to do that fancy art in the latte? It'd make a good update to my social media." The actor made a show of digging through his pockets until he whipped out his phone and shook it in Jaehee's direction. 

She considered the question and her attention fell to you. "I generally leave that to MC, she's especially skilled at it. I tried my hand at it before she came along, but it... never turned out well." 

"Really?" Zen perked up as he focused to you. "What are you able to make? Isn't it hard?" 

You tilted your head and tossed your answer back and forth internally for a moment. In retrospect, it was a difficult art form if not consistent, but for you, it was second nature at this point. There weren't many thing you considered yourself adept at, but latte art was one of them. 

"It takes a lot of focus, but I can do just about anything you ask. Please go easy on me, though." You glanced towards Jaehee as she transitioned to help a couple in matching shirts and snatched a large mug from under the counter. In a quiet voice, you said, "I didn't get that much sleep last night. Only like an hour, really." 

"Huh? Why?" Zen frowned. "That's not good for your health, you know." 

"Saeyoung and I-" 

"What did he do!? That guy!" Zen nearly launched himself over the counter from his sheer momentum. It was enough to gather the attention of everyone in the shop that you felt a blush of your own forming. 

"We didn't do anything," You said in a hushed tone. "Not really."

"But you still did something?"  

You turned your eyes down to the latte you'd prepared subconsciously in front of you, hoping Zen will take the hint as you tried to work on his coffee art. Slowly, you felt your high leaving your body as your shoulders sagged and your mind started to become filled with static.   "He kissed me." 

Zen's jaw fell open that he quickly snapped shut. He mumbled, "That wolf...." 

"Is it really that big of a deal?" You asked, trying to keep a lighthearted tone. As time progressed, you found it growing more and more difficult though as it dawned on you that the others might not be as excited for this milestone as you were. What if Saeyoung felt that way too? That last night wasn't anything special? 

He watched you for a moment before shaking his head and grinning. He said, "When it comes to Saeyoung, anything's possible. He didn't try to force you to do anything, did he?" 

"Would he?" You asked, unsure. 

"N-No!" Zen said. Then, with downcast eyes, he murmured, "At least not that I think he would. He may be eccentric and weird, but he's fairly considerate of others." 

"Then why would you ask that...?"  

Zen offered an apologetic smile paired with a halfhearted shrug before nodding towards the latte. He asked, "What'd you draw? Or should I say illustrate? Is there some sort of coffee lingo I should know?" 

"Huh? Oh." You looked down at it and inclined your head to the right, staring at the rose you'd made. It wasn't particularly good with sloppy edges and certainly could have used more of your attention, but when you turned it towards Zen, he was more than happy with it. 

"A rose~? How cute," He sighed dreamily. "You must have love on your mind, not that I can blame you. It's hard not to whenever I'm around." 

You chuckled. "That's for sure." 

He grinned. "Hey, about what I said in the messenger. Call if you need me, okay?" 

"I will, thanks." 

"And don't worry, I won't tell Jaehee you snuck off from work to chat." 

"I doubt it'll matter. Everyone can read the past messages and their time stamps, right?" 

"Damn. Tough luck." 

You shrugged. "We can't all be winners." 

"I'll talk to you later?" 

You nodded. 

Zen flashed a final smirk your way and turned with his latte in hand before sauntering over to strike up a conversation to Jaehee. You watched him until you heard Jaehee's laughter and his own that echoed afterwards, you released a sigh as you scanned the shop for Saeyoung. It hadn't occurred to you until now that you'd been hoping he'd show up. He'd been diligent with visiting during your shifts, but not seeing him now was making you restless. Or paranoid. 

If Saeyoung's brother is the reason he had to go last night, maybe something more serious than you thought had happened? Why wouldn't he have told you in your messages, though?   Groaning, you snatched a relatively clean rag and went to the nearest empty table to wipe it down and rearrange the decorations. Nothing quite like working your way through the distractions to battle the insecurities your mind conjured.

 

* * *

 

The minute the co-worker replacing your position for the remainder of the night patted you on the shoulder in the stock room, you sighed out of pent up agitation. You murmured under your breath about regrets and dumb decision to cover for people and slung your bag over your shoulder, bolting from the coffee shop.

All you had on your mind at this point was getting back to your bed and catching up on your sleep. As you trekked towards the complex under the light of the street lamps, you felt your legs ready to give out and it took everything in you to refrain from stepping off the side of the road to allow a driver to put you out of your misery. It could've helped to hang back at work longer in the break room with another cup of coffee and a freshly baked cherry scone, but your desire for sleep outweighed your hunger.

Glancing both ways before crossing the intersection, you paused when brilliant red hair at the head of your apartment building caught your attention. Only one name rung through your head and it brought an instant smile to your face as you darted forward in a happy jog. Raising your hand in a wave, you shouted, "Saeyoung!"

The person turned and tilted their head at you, a nonchalant expression obvious even from where you stood.

It was Saeyoung's face, but his entire demeanor was off. You slowed to a stop and frowned as you focused on his mint eyes. "You're... his brother?" 

"Yes."

"He didn't mention you were twins," You mumbled. Drawing a blank at what conclusion to draw, you shifted on your feet until you found the courage to meet his gaze once more. "Do you want to come up?"

He questioned, "Has Saeyoung been up there yet?"

"Ah, no." 

"Okay," He said. "Let's go."

You nodded and offered an awkward smile that you immediately worried came off as uncomfortable as you felt. With his consistent glower, you didn't doubt for a moment that he had the ability to read you without even knowing you. You pushed the thought to the back of your mind and swiftly went through the motion of punching in your code and leading him inside the building.

As the two of you entered the elevator and stood across from each other, you rocked on your toes and cleared your throat. "What's your name?"

He stared at you, an endless abyss that set you off kilter. "Saeran."

"That's a cool name," You said. When he narrowed his eyes, you looked away and added, "I mean, I guess. If you like it."

"How does he like you?" Saeran grumbled.

You raised your eyebrows at him. "Excuse me?"

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, moving his eyes to the doors at the exact moment they slid open. He hardly waited for you as he stalked down the hall to your exact apartment door.

How he knew it without asking wasn't something you particularly wanted to know.

After you unlocked the door and ushered him in, you quickly sat on your couch to cover a wine stain from a night you had one too many. Smiling up at him, you said, "So, uh, is there a reason for your visit, or...?"

Saeran barely met your gaze as he sat at the opposite side of the couch. With his elbows on his knees, he leaned forward and stared at his joined hands. He started to tap his foot before he said, "Why do you like Saeyoung?"

That caused you to falter and your mouth to fall open. Closing it quickly, you sunk back in the couch and stared at the wall loitered with art prints. You knew you liked Saeyoung, but you'd never considered the factual reasoning. Was it too much to assume it was an attraction that crossed the stars to join the two of you? It was whimsical and certainly an unusual idea, but it was the one you adored.

When your silence bordered several minutes, Saeran finally turned his eyes to you. He frowned. "You don't have a reason? Is he just a temporary affair for you?"

"What? No!"

"Then why didn't you answer?" He leaned forward, grabbing the couch tightly.

You turned away and swallowed thickly. Crossing your arms over your chest, you slowly moved your eyes to his. You said, "I don't know how to answer. There's a lot of reasons I like him, but I don't see why it's important to you to interrogate me about it. Besides, I'd feel weird talking about it with his twin brother."

"You're avoiding the question."

"I just... you really want to know?"

"Questions usually need answers."

Turning your gaze to your fidgeting hands, you said, "Do you want anything to drink or eat?"

He remained quiet, staring you down. It was an unusual sight, he appeared so soft with his oversized sweater (who wore that sort of thing in summer time?) and hair curling slightly at the ends. Yet, his piercing gaze was that of someone practiced in the art of grimacing.

With a quick movement, you retreated to your kitchen and peered over the counter to where Saeran turned his attention to his phone. He leaned back in the couch and sunk in to it, glancing around subtly at the apartment. While he did a good job of hiding it, he had raised his phone to take pictures of your home.

You nearly dropped your glass of water at the realization. Clearing your throat and catching his attention, you said, "I like the way he is someone I can be myself around. He makes me comfortable with a part of myself I keep from people most of the times."

Saeran stared at you, blankly.

Lowering your gaze to your cup, you laughed dryly. "It sounds so silly when I say it aloud."

"Then you should know that anyone who hurts him won't have a good ending," Saeran said. "You don't know him as well as you think you do or what he's been through. Even if he's thinking without his brain at the moment, I'm doing it for him and I don't trust you."

You frowned.

He got to his feet and without so much as glancing your way, he left your apartment with the sound of the door slamming behind him. The sheer accumulation of the event made you stare after him, waiting for him to come barging in to tell you that it was all a joke. There was no way Saeyoung's brother would come to make a personal threat to you.

When minutes passed, the vibration of your phone on the counter reeled you back in. You snatched it up and stared at Saeyoung's name and picture on the screen waiting for you to answer. You quickly accepted and pressed it to your ear, uncertain what to say.

"Hey~! What took you so long? I thought you missed me," Saeyoung whined and you could imagine the pout on his face. It almost made you smile.

"I had someone over, sorry."

"Really?" He sounded genuinely surprised. "Did you have fun? Do I know them?"

A small laugh. "Are you my mother now?"

"That'd be an interesting scenario~" He hummed.

"I can't believe you just said that to me," You said. Glancing back towards the door and Saeran's words still fresh in your mind, you swallowed thickly. "I, uh, can't talk now. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have answered."

Saeyoung grew quiet. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"You... you know I wouldn't intentionally hurt you, right?"

"Where is this coming from?"

"It's nothing, please. Uh, good night."

"MC-"

You locked your phone and pressed it to your chest. Sighing deeply and closing your eyes, you decided it would be best if you gave your relation with Saeyoung a brief rest. Saeran was right. There wasn't any reason to move too quickly when you hardly knew each other.

Glancing behind you and finding a half-empty bottle of wine, you figured you might as well finish it and take a bath while you were at it. After this day, you needed to relax.

You grabbed the bottle and headed to your bathroom.

 

* * *

 

It wasn't until a series of knocks on the front door made you realize you'd fallen asleep in your bathtub, empty wine bottle still in hand. You groaned and shifted, but ended up allowing your head to loll back while your muscles refused to cooperate. It couldn't have been too long ago you passed out, not when your head was spinning and nausea was settled in the pit of your stomach.

A muffled call for your name came from outside and a moment later, your phone started to vibrate with a call. You reached for it, but gave up within a second of trying. It was late, why was someone bothering you? Did you drunkenly order pizza? It was certainly something you'd done in your college days, so you supposed it wasn't such a farfetched idea.

With that in mind, you went through the motions of climbing out of the tub and wrapping a towel around yourself at a mind-numbingly slow pace until you finally made it to the front door. For a long minute that felt like hours, you stared at it waiting for it to open. It wasn't until another knock at the door that you realized it was your door and you were the one supposed to answer it.

You laughed awkwardly before opening the door and tilting your head at Saeyoung standing there with a worried expression that immediately melted in to relief. Then, his face shifted to match his shade of hair at the realization that you were in nothing but a towel.

"Saeyoung?" You mumbled. "What are you doing here?"

Despite trying to pull together a confident persona, he couldn't manage to do anything but contort his face without any words coming out. At last, he rubbed the back of his neck and laughed. He said, "You sounded upset on the phone and I was at home alone, so I thought you could use the company. I didn't realize you were busy with, uh, other things. I can go if you want."

"Oh, I'm not busy."

Saeyoung stared at you.

You returned the gesture and slowly realized the reason for lack of conversation. "You can come in."

He smiled brightly and bounced on in, careful to avoid bumping in to you. He waltzed over to the couch and plopped down, apparently comfortable enough to claim the spot as his own. Stretching his arms out to rest on the head of the couch and crossing his leg over the other, he sank back and allowed his eyes to wander.

You made your way to your room and shed the towel in exchange for your pajamas. Once you had them on, you returned to your living room and fell on to the other end of the couch. You noticed at once how focused Saeyoung was and you raised your eyebrows at him. You said, "Something catch your eye?"

Tilting his head towards you, he smiled and gestured towards a corner of the room. "You have a lot of art supplies. You never said you did art. I mean, you graduated Sky University for art and yet, you're working at a coffee shop?"

You knew what the underlying question was, but you chose to ask, "Were you stalking my social media?"

"Only a little," He said and grinned. "Totally beside the point~!"

You rolled your eyes and grabbed one of you pillows and hugged it to your chest, pulling your knees up to the pillow. Resting your chin on the pillow, you said, "Your brother was the one who was visiting when you called."

Confusion flashed in Saeyoung's eyes as he said, "What? He was here?"

You nodded and lowered your eyes, recounting the situation with him. When it came to an end, you hesitantly met his gaze. While you knew Saeyoung liked you, who knew how he'd react if he knew that his own twin brother had suspicions about you. It even had you second guessing whether you had a secret motive or not.

Saeyoung fidgeted with a bracelet and said, "A lot has happened in my past, but it's not important. Saeran probably feels it is because he only came back in to my life after it was all over. We... only recently came to being on good terms."

"Then isn't it good that he's being so protective?"

"Yeah, but... he shouldn't threaten you like that." Saeyoung turned his eyes to his lap and continued to fidget, probably without even realizing it was growing worse. Did he feel guilty about something?

You hesitated, but moved closer to Saeyoung and placed your hand over his to stop the fidgeting. You said, "I'm not asking you to share all your secrets with me at once or so early in to... whatever this is, but you shouldn't feel bad about what Saeran did. A lot of siblings do that, it's just their way of trying to protect the other. He probably feels like it's something he has to do since you've only gotten to know each other again recently."

He glanced your way and formed a sad smile. "I don't doubt that's why."

Seeing the sadness in his entire composure, you felt your heart cracking in two. There was something terribly wrong with the idea of having someone entirely selfless feel the weight of the world on their shoulders. At that, you turned your attention to your collection of art in the corner and said, "It's all from my days in college. I haven't done anything new in months, but I can't bring myself to throw any of it away either."

He followed your gaze and sighed albeit a smile formed. "That doesn't mean you should give up completely."

"What's the point? I wasn't good enough to make a job out of it and I won't be good enough now. I don't want to waste my time on something that has no purpose," You said.

"But doesn't it make you happy?"

"Of course it does, but-"

"Nope~! If it's something that makes you happy, then there's a purpose to it."

"I don't think that's how it works..." You mumbled.

Saeyoung shook his head, though. "I was stuck in a job I hated for a long time, but I still made sure to make time for the things that made me happy! I love my job now."

"What exactly is your job?"

"I'm a toy maker~!" He grinned from ear to ear. "That makes us both artists, right? So, trust me when I tell you to keep doing what you love! You'll get there one day~."

You looked at your lap and smiled, reminded of how infectious his behavior was. "Thank you," You said. Turning your gaze to him, you tightened your hold on his hand and pulled it in to your lap. "I really needed to hear that."

He grinned and leaned towards you. "Now, how about a little kissy kissy~."

You laughed. "Does Saeyoung want a smoochie woochie from me~?"

He snorted.

"What should we do? For real?" You leaned your head on the couch.

"Ah, I have to get home to relieve Saeran's babysitter."

"He has a babysitter?"

"Sort of," He said. "It's just Yoosung."

You smiled. "Then, I won't keep you from it. I'll just stay home and wonder what your home looks like after you've seen mine now."

"Curious, eh~? In the mood for I'll show you mine if you show me yours~?"

You rolled your eyes. "Oh, just go."

"Whatever my lady commands of me," He said while getting to his feet. Bringing your hand to his mouth, he placed a kiss then swept in to a low bow. With a playful wink, he turned on his heel and waved as he left the apartment.

You brought your hand to your face and sighed, sinking down on the couch.

Was is possible to fall for someone this quickly?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone else watch the new Voltron season? I cried so much at it, haha. It was happy tears, don't worry. It's got me worried about the next season though, oh man, keep Lance protected please.
> 
> I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I've got a V story in the works that I'm trying to wait until his route is released to publish. I'm waiting on you cheritz for that quality blue man route;;;


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